TOPIC: Scouting on the 4th of July weekend

Fellows,
Here is some eye candy to look at for the moment. I'll put a report with it soon. I'm pretty tired.

Hugh
http://www.smokymountainflyguide.com/Choosing%20places%20to%20grow%20ginseng2.htm

I found out last night on the US Forest Service Website that the section that will be open to ginseng digging this 2014 season will be Section #4, and that is Carter County, Tn. I had wrongly assumed when they told us last year that the first section to be open to digging would be Section number #1 and that is Cocke County and section #2 is Greene County. My assumption was that #2 would follow this year. It did not turn out that way and now I will have to do some more scouting if I try to get my name drawn again. This section is close to Elizabethton, Tn. and it is 100 miles from my home. I do a lot of fishing up there and I have planted ginseng there, but very little scouting in the back country. We decided to go to some mountains closer by today and see what we might find for the future. The ginseng plants that we found were large and they will make some fine roots when they are dug. I hope that you enjoy looking at the pictures.

Very nice hugh . its nice to c the young plants underneath u know they've been there awhile.

Very nice hugh . its nice to c the young plants underneath u know they've been there awhile.

Hugh..

You found some good ones for sure. They look nice and healthy too.

Just wondering did you GPS mark them ?

A few years ago I went scouting in June and marked several with my GPS and then when season opened it had turned real bad hot and dry and anything that was left green in the woods the deer had eaten.

Almost all of the seng plants I marked with GPS the tops had been browsed by season opener.

It took a while and some patience but with my GPS I did manage to find several of those with just the stems sticking up a little above the ground (tops eaten off).


TNhunter

Evening fellows,
Tn,
I have never used a GPS system to mark plants with. I'm sure they have to be handy though. I found some of these plants last year after the season had closed in the Cherokee National Forest. I was Grouse Hunting with Boomer and Carolyn was not with me. I took her there to see if she could find any of them to give her some practice. We actually found a few that I had not seen last season. They were going down at the time and they may have already disappeared. There were some whoppers there to look at this time. The one plant that is growing up through a swirl of grape vines was 31 inches high from the ground to the top of the berry stem. Many of the others were well over 20 inches. That will be a diggers treasure to get into those.
I hope you are getting more rain where you live than we are here in East Tn. I have had to water several times already and it's not looking good at all. The lakes are pretty low and it's having an impact on things. Your garden looks great so it may be better there. In just a few more days it will be planting time for me in the mountains.
Hugh

Wow great pics. Yes that big one in the swirl of grape vines is a beauty. 31 inches tall is a big plant top for sure. I bet it has a root to match.
Latt

Nice pics Hugh! I went to check a spot I have never been to...nothing.

Nice pics Hugh! I went to check a spot I have never been to...nothing.

Maya, Latt, Tn, and Hobler,
Thanks for the good thoughts about the plants. It will be a few years before that section is open again so they will have time to grow some more. I'll have to take the tops out of them or they will disappear.
Maya, I think I've visited that place you spoke of here in Tennessee. \"Nothing\", that is exactly what I found in Greene County. In about two weeks it won't be like that any more.
Hugh

Hugh and Maya...

I have been to that \"nothing\" and also to a \"next to nothing\" hollow a few times

But then next trip could be your best hollow ever - that is just part this fine sport.

Hugh - we have had nice weather so far this year. It did get a little dry the past couple weeks, but not bad and the temps have been lower than usual for late June, early July (which helps). And yesterday evening just as it was starting to get a bit too dry, we got a real good 3-4 hour rain.

I usually have to water my sweet corn 3-4-5 times before harvest, but this year I have only watered one time and we are picking and eating fresh now.

Hope your rain picks up over there.

TNhunter